Abstract
Herein, we report, a hybrid of mixed valent cobalt ludwigite (Co3BO5) and reduced-multiwalled carbon nanotubes (R-MWCNTs) as an outstanding oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalyst. Interestingly, the composite acts as a potential OER electrocatalyst, displaying a low overpotential of 270 mV @10 mA cm−2, which is lower than that for the state-of-the-art RuO2 catalyst. The remarkable OER performance of the cobalt-ludwigite is attributed to its basic distorted open crystal structure, which has a relatively high crystal volume, owing to a domain network consisting of edge-sharing octahedra. Moreover, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy clarifies the hybrid of cobalt-ludwigite and R-MWCNTs, exhibiting a stable π-cation-like interaction between the Co3+ of Co3BO5 rather than Co2+ and neutral π- cloud of R-MWCNTs, which helps in enhancing the conductivity of the system. Thus, the overall performance of the composite stems from the basic crystal structure of the Co3BO5 and the existence of synergistic effects between the R-MWCNTs on Co3BO5 through π-cation-like interaction. Hence, the results of this study might be useful in developing more efficient other ludwigite–carbon OER electrocatalysts as affordable alternatives.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1670-1676 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | ChemElectroChem |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 13 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2 Jul 2018 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Funding
S.K. acknowledges IUSSTF (22-2012/2013-14). Financial support through MULTIFUN (CSC 0101) is highly acknowledged. The authors thank the CSIR-CECRI Central Instrumentation Facility team for helping to handle the analytical instruments and characterization.
Funders | Funder number |
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MULTIFUN | CSC 0101 |
Keywords
- carbon nanotubes
- electrocatalysts
- mixed valent cobalt ludwigite
- water oxidation
- π-cation-like interactions